7 October, 2022
On October 7, the Chair of the Judicial Council Aigars Strupišs and the Deputy Chair of the Judicial Council Dzintra Balta met with the judges of the Riga Regional Court to discuss the current issues of the Judicial Council and the Riga Regional Court.
During the meeting, the Chair of the Judicial Council Aigars Strupišs informed the judges of the Riga Regional Court about the strategic directions of the Judicial Council, as well as about the implementation of the Judicial Council's work plan for this year.
Furthermore, the members of the Judicial Council and judges discussed the remuneration of court employees and the quality of professional performance. The Chair of the Riga Regional Court Daiga Vilsone emphasized the need to address the issue of salary increase of court employees. Whereas, the Chair of the Judicial Council Aigars Strupišs pointed out that within the context of addressing this issue, the role of the Judicial Council in court budgeting should be strengthened in parallel.
The members of the Judicial Council and the judges of the Riga Regional Court discussed the necessity of merging the regional courts and possible benefits and risks. The parties agreed to start a broader discussion on the said issue.
The Deputy Chair of the Judicial Council Dzintra Balta gave information about current events in the selection procedure of judges. The members of the Judicial Council and the judges discussed also the procedure for the selection of new judges and the selection of judges for the regional courts.
Members of the Judicial Council and judges also discussed the pilot project of "case-weighting" and its results, as well as the possibility of further reviewing cases in the regional courts in a written procedure.
When discussing the communication of the Judicial Council with the Court, the Chair of the Judicial Council Aigars Strupišs invited the judges to actively address the Secretariat of the Judicial Council when questions or initiatives arise. The judges agreed that such face-to-face meetings are significant for maintaining the dialogue between the Judicial Council and the judges.
The Judicial Council participates in the development of the policy and strategy of the judicial system, as well as in the improvement of the work organization of the judicial system. Therefore, in order to ensure a high-quality and direct dialogue with the judiciary, members of the Judicial Council also met with the judges of the Regional Courts of Latgale, Zemgale, Vidzeme and Kurzeme. Members of the Judicial Council also plan to meet with the judges of the Regional Administrative Court and district (city) courts.